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The Benton County Cultural Coalition was established on July 1, 2004 by the Benton County Board of Commissioners to distribute funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust, a unique statewide effort to provide long-term support for art, culture and heritage in the state of Oregon.

VISION: An active cultural life throughout Benton County with high-quality cultural experiences, accessible to everyone.

MISSION:
The Benton County Cultural Coalition exists:1) To distribute funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust to 501(c)(3)non-profit organizations (or individuals who partner with a fiscal non-profit sponsor) in Benton County, Oregon, thereby strengthening art, heritage and humanities programming.2) To increase donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust through public awareness of how the Trust operates and benefits the citizens of Benton County.3) To increase the number of Benton County cultural non-profits registered with the Oregon Cultural Trust. A financial gift to one or more of these qualifying nonprofit organizations followed by a matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust allows a donor to claim a tax credit.

PRIORITIES/BENCHMARKS:

1) Build Organization or Individual Capacity: Projects that have as a main goal to strengthen the capacity of an organization or individual to do the work they do in art, heritage or humanities; this includes but is not limited to buying new equipment, purchasing uniforms, hiring an employee.2) Improve or Preserve Structures: Projects that have as a main goal to preserve or improve a structure i.e.: a storefront, school, historic bank, heritage site.3) Increase Participation In and Access To Culture: Projects that have as a main goal to increase participation and access to culture for all Oregonians; this includes but is not limited to increasing diversity of participants and/or creating plans that include all community members.4) Public Art: Projects that seek to place art in public and community environments.5) Lifelong Learning: Projects that target adults and senior citizens as program participants; this includes but is not limited to adult music programs, art, heritage or cultural programs for adults & senior citizens, etc.6) Stories/Oral Traditions: Programs with the main goal of sharing stories in the oral tradition.7) Cultural Tourism: Projects and events that promote cultural tourism.8) Youth: Any project that is youth related, specifically those for children in grades K-12; it may be partnering with or created by a school; however to be a youth-focused project, school affiliation is not required.9) Economic Development: For projects that have as a main goal to improve the economy of their community; this includes but is not limited to seeding organizations, encouraging investment in culture, main street projects, preservation for the sake of increasing commercial traffic to area businesses.